Back to the Future (film): Difference between revisions

'''Doc Brown:''' "The way I see it, if you're gonna build a time machine into a car, why not do it [[Rule of Cool|with some style]]?" }}

 

 

In ''Back to the Future'', Marty McFly, a teenager from 1985, accidentally sends himself to 1955 in the time machine [[The Professor|Doc Brown]] built out of a DeLorean. To return home, he needs [[Plot Coupon|1.21 gigawatts of power]]. Conveniently, a bolt of [[Lightning Can Do Anything]] has at least that much power. After initial confusion, the 1955 Doc Brown agrees to help Marty, but they soon discover another complication. Marty has inadvertently [[Grandfather Paradox|stopped his parents from marrying]]. Now, he has just one week to put history back on track before he and his siblings are erased from existence. He manages it, and in the process invents rock 'n' roll and skateboarding.

In ''Back to the Future Part III'', Marty and the 1955 Doc exhume the DeLorean, mothballed by the 1885 Doc Brown in a closed mine. To their horror, Marty discovers 1885's Doc Brown's tombstone, learning that he was shot by Buford "Mad Dog" Tannen, [[Identical Grandson|Biff's ancestor]]. Originally told to go to his proper time and let him be, Marty instead goes back to 1885 to rescue his friend, but the fuel line is damaged in the trip. Since the DeLorean can't time travel unless it's accelerated to 88mph, both Marty and the Doc are now trapped in 1885 (high-octane gasoline being hard to come by in those days). They only have a few days to find a way to go [[Title Drop|back to the future]], before Doc Brown's appointment with death - but things get complicated when Doc Brown accidentally saves and almost immediately falls in love with school teacher Clara Clayton who was supposed to have fallen into the ravine, going against his stance on not changing history, and Marty finds himself facing a showdown with Tannen.

 

 

An [[Animated Adaptation]], ''[[Back to The Future The Animated Series]]'', followed, in which Marty and Doc, along with Doc's now-wife Clara and their kids Jules and Verne, met identical Tannens and McFlys in many other time periods. [[Universal Studios]] also hosted a motion simulator ride for many years, where the guests play Doc's volunteers testing out his eight-seat DeLorean, who have to track down another time machine stolen by 1955 Biff. It has since been replaced by ''[[The Simpsons]] Ride'', which features a cameo from Doc Brown as an act of courtesy. A cinematic rerelease happened in 2010 to celebrate the 25th anniversary, along with several spinoff products.

 

 

 

<!-- %% The tropes that a work named is trivia and belongs on the Trivia tab. -->

* [[All Just a Dream]]: Subverted [[Once an Episode|once in all three films]]. In each one Marty gets knocked out and comes to in a dark room being nursed to health by a woman he thinks is the mother he knows, believing his recent hardships were a nightmare. The woman inevitably reassures him in a way that tells Marty (and the audience) that it actually wasn't a dream.

** Subverted in the opening of the first game, where it actually was a dream.

** As well as other info of the characters' backgrounds. Including Doc's mother's side of the family growing up in Hill Valley.

* [[Almost Kiss]]: This happens three times in ''Part I'', between Marty and Jennifer (though they did share a brief kiss before she went home with her dad). Towards the end of ''Part III'', the two are finally able to kiss more definitively.

** You also can't run a fusion reactor on garbage (well, maybe on organic matter and/or water if you have a way to extract the hydrogen, but Doc threw a metal can in there too). It's a good thing that "Mr. Fusion" is just a brand name, and a play on "[[Bland-Name Product|Mr. Coffee]]."

** Although, he does pour [[Booze-Based Buff|Miller]] in there as well.

* [[Berserk Button]]: "''Nobody''... calls me chicken."

** The variation in ''Part III'', where he said "nobody calls me yellow."

* [[Fish Out of Temporal Water]]: Marty, everywhen but 1985.

** In a way, he was also one of these in (the alternate) 1985!

** Crispin Glover also didn't return, so in all refilmed 1955 scenes in Part II, George is always seen from behind (except one shot of recycled footage viewed through Marty's binoculars).

** The [[Spear Carrier]] couple ("Who is that guy?" "That's George McFly...") also get replaced in Part II's 1955 scenes, as do most of the other 1955 extras.

** The movie does try to point out that Marty wasn't ''automatically'' good with a real gun because of the game... his first shot seems to miss as much due to the recoil as using his off hand. He adjusts quickly, but recoil isn't too bad on revolvers anyway.

*** Actually if the Single Action Army he is using was a .45 Colt, that was the most powerful handgun cartridge available until the development of the .44 Magnum in 1955. It does have some substantial recoil.

** Calvin Klein is actually a subversion, as Lorraine [[Line-of-Sight Name|sees it written on his underwear]] and believes it's his name. Marty goes with it to avoid arousing further suspicion.

** Clint Eastwood, on the other hand, is played completely straight. Marty can't even back out of a duel because it would tap his personal [[Berserk Button]] ''and'' pre-emptively ruin Clint Eastwood's career in Westerns by associating his name with cowardice.

* [[It Will Never Catch On]]: Amongst other examples: "Ronald Reagan? The ''actor''?" in ''Part I''; "Clint Eastwood? What kinda stupid name is that for a cowboy?" in ''Part III''.

** Part III: "Run for fun? What the hell kinda fun is ''that''?"

* [[Jerkass]]/JerkJock: Biff Tannen, as well as [[In the Blood|his whole family line]].

* [[Just Eat Gilligan]]: A lot of complex plots and quick thinking [[Justified Trope|have to be used]]; the simple solution cannot because it might cause a [[Temporal Paradox]], although eventually both Marty and Doc choose [[Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right]] instead. Part of the adventure is the lengths the characters have to go to in order to preserve the timeline(s).

** Two to ''[[Chitty Chitty Bang Bang]]'': Doc owns dogs named after famous scientists (Copernicus in 1955, Einstein in 1985), just like how Caractacus Potts owns a dog named after a famous inventor (Edison). And they both make flying vehicles. The time machine train in ''Part III'' even sprouts wings like Chitty.

*** Another ''Chitty'' shout-out is how they both have breakfast-making machines in ''Part I'' and ''Part III''.

** The Y-shaped flux capacitor was designed to resemble an upside-down [[The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the Eighth Dimension|Oscillation Overthruster]].

*** Similarly, the DeLorean's requirement for 88 MPH was meant to resemble the [[The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the Eighth Dimension|Banzai Institute logo]].

* [[Thermal Dissonance]]

* [[Time Travel]] (of course)

** Though Marty quickly gives up on the latter after Doc catches him red-handed and sermonizes him.

* [[Title Drop]] (quite frequently)

* [[Enforced Method Acting]]: Marty's [[Spit Take]] wasn't because he saw Lorraine smoking a cigarette, it's because the bottle Michael J. Fox was drinking out of was filled with actual alcohol without him knowing. The DVD contains the full take in the blooper reel, complete with his reaction afterwards.

** While there was a take with alcohol in the bottle in one take, the take we see in the movie was NOT the one with the alcohol. If you check out the clip widely available online of him drinking the alcohol and compare it to the final cut of the movie, you can see that it was a different take.

* [[Evil Redhead]]: "Dixon", the [[Evil Laugh|cackling]] punk who cuts in on George's dance with Lorraine.

* [[False Start]]: George with Lorraine in 1955.

{{quote| "I think it's terrible. Girls chasing boys. [[Parental Hypocrisy|When I was your age I never chased a boy, called a boy or...sat...in a parked car with a boy.]]"}}

* [[Former Teen Rebel]]: Lorraine.

* [[Funny Background Event]]: Stella keeps taking off Milton's coonskin hat, while Marty is taking in the surroundings of the Baines' dining room.

* [[Garage Band]]: Marty McFly's band, which auditions for the school dance.

{{quote| '''Marty:''' "Because George *voice begins to stutter* Nice girls get angry when not nice guys take advantage of them."<br />

'''George:''' Hoh! You mean you're going to touch her on her- *holding a bra in his hand* }}

* [[Grumpy Old Man]]: Sam Baines.

* [[The Gump]]: Back in 1955, Marty McFly plays Chuck Berry's ''Johnny B. Goode'' when he steps in for Chuck's cousin, Marvin Berry. While Marty is playing, Marvin calls Chuck up so he can listen in on this "new sound." This is arguably more of a [[Temporal Paradox]], though (specifically an example of a "predestination paradox"), as it raises the question of who actually created the "new sound."

* [[Incest Is Relative]]: Parodied, in that whilst Marty knows who Lorraine really is, she has no idea as to his true identity. Luckily for Marty, Lorraine likens kissing him as to kissing her brother.

{{quote| '''Lorraine''': "I don't know what it is, but when I kiss you, it's like I'm kissing my brother."}}

* [[Kid From the Future]]: Marty, although his parents know nothing of who he really is.

* [[Late for School]]: Marty, for the fourth time in a row.

* [[Nice Job Fixing It, Villain]]: Biff pushing Lorraine down and [[Evil Laugh|laughing about it]] gives George the [[Date Rape Averted|resolve he needs]] [[Crowning Moment of Awesome|to punch him out]].

* [[No Accounting for Taste]]: George and Lorraine in the original 1985, at the start of the film.

** On the other hand, the film does a good job in showing both the bright, sunny veneer of [[The Fifties]] and the darker, less pleasant aspects underneath without being bluntly [[Anvilicious]].

* [[Oh Crap]]: "They found me. I don't know how but they found me. RUN FOR IT, MARTY!"

* [[Right Place, Right Time, Wrong Reason]]: "...He's a peeping tom!"

* [[Ripped From the Phone Book]]

* [[Scary Black Man|Scary Black Men]]: "Who you callin' "spook", peckerwood?!"

* [[Science Marches On]]: Played with in Doc Brown's apparently sincere assumption that "plutonium is available in every corner drugstore" in 1985, among other assumptions.

* [[Vanity License Plate]]: The DeLorean has the tags OUTATIME.

* [[What Do You Mean It's Not Awesome?]]: George's method of [[Bar Slide|ordering a milkshake]].

** It is said they were arrested. And Doc leaving for the future in case they try to rat him out.

** What happened to Doctor Brown's remaining plutonium? did he use it all before fitting Mr Fusion or did he just throw it in a bin somewhere? (which given the general recklessness he displays during the Trilogy is not that much of a stretch)

 

 

* [[Batter Up]]: Griff, attacking Marty in 2015 with his baseball bat, even says the phrase.

* [[Binocular Shot]]: When Marty uses binoculars at the dance in 1955 and later when the DeLorean is flying above Biff's car.

* [[Book and Switch]]: Biff hides a girly magazine inside the dust jacket of the sports almanac, which Marty mistakes for the real thing. An earlier scene in 2015 established the dust jacket for the purpose of this scene.

* [[Bond Villain Stupidity]]: Apparently, Old Biff told his younger self if some kid or some wild-eyed old man who claims to be a scientist shows up asking about the book, he should sit him down, tell him in exacting detail the event of getting the book, and only ''then'' try to shoot him.

** Mattel [http://www.engadget.com/2012/02/14/back-to-the-future-mattel-hoverboard-replica/ released a hoverboard in late 2012]. Some buyers [http://gizmodo.com/5967983/the-back-to-the-future-hoverboard-is-2012s-worst-toy were not impressed.]

** In 2008, Nike released 1000 pairs of (rather pricey) "Air McFly/Nike Mag" sneakers. And in 2011, they released [http://www.radiotimes.com/news/2011-09-09/nike-launches-back-to-the-future-trainers 1500 more.] The '11 versions light up. But, neither version self-laces, though.

{{quote| ''(THUMP!)'' The ''easy'' way.}}

* [[Egopolis]]: 1985-A. A Vatican City of vice, with Biff as Pope.

* [[Guess Who I'm Marrying]]: We don't actually see when Lorraine-A tells her kids who she is going to marry in 1973-A, but the reaction of the Marty from our timeline fits the bill.

* [[Half-Identical Twins]]: Marty Jr. and Marlene, possibly. Some scripts have both children mentioned as being 17, and both were played by Michael J. Fox - so they're commonly believed to be twins.

* [[Heroic BSOD]]: Doc at the end, when all of the [[Unfortunate Implications]] to Marty's return from the future hit him. He faints.

* [[Hesitation Equals Dishonesty]]: At the end of the first film, Doc lies about Marty and Jennifer not being "assholes in the future." When the scene was reshot for the start of the second film, Doc hesitates before answering their question.

* [[Product Placement]]: Most are for "future" products. Mattel hasn't gotten around to making hoverboards...yet. The futuristic Pepsi glass makes it look awfully good, though.

* [[Prop Recycling]]: All of the futuristic cars were recycled from other films.

* [[Real Life Writes the Plot]]: The concept of an altered "[[Bad Future|bad present]]" where George McFly was murdered came about due to Crispin Glover's refusal to take part in the sequel.

* [[The Red Stapler]]: We're still waiting for our hoverboards... ones that really work, that is. (See Defictionalization, above.)

* [[Screw the Rules, I Have Money]]:

{{quote| '''Biff:''' "I OWN the police!"}}

** Also, the virtual Michael Jackson, Ronald Reagan and Ayatollah Khomeini are modeled after [[Max Headroom]].

** Marty Jr. yells "I'm Walkin' Here!" at a taxi.

** One of the headlines in the paper in 1985-A reads 'Nixon to seek fifth term', a possible shout-out to Watchmen.

* [[Shrug of God]]: Bob Gale admitted in the DVD commentary that he has no idea what "lithium mode" is, and he doesn't know what illicit activities Future!Marty was getting into with the card scan.

** Also worth noting is that the date traveled to in ''Time After Time'', November 5, is the same date Marty (accidentally) travels to in ''Part I''.

** The three old-timers at the saloon are all played by veterans of westerns: Dub Taylor, Harry Carey, Jr. and Pat Buttram.

* [[And Starring]]: Lea Thompson.

* [[Badass Longcoat]]: Doc.

* [[Bag of Spilling]]: The DeLorean lost its flying abilities when it was struck by lightning in the last movie.

* [[Bittersweet Ending]]: {{spoiler|Averted. Initially, it looks like a [[Bittersweet Ending]] because Doc Brown is stuck in the 1800s, but he is with the woman he loves, and Marty is reunited with Jennifer in his own time, but it looks like he will never see Doc Brown again. However, they are reunited in the end anyway because the Doc builds a [[Cool Train|steam-powered train time machine]]}}

* [[The Blacksmith]]: Doc sets himself up as one when trying to repair the DeLorean until giving up and hiding it in the Delgado Mine. By the time Marty comes to 1885 to rescue Doc, he's still operating as a blacksmith.

** Although he wishes he still had Tylenol.

* [[Bullet Dancing]]: Spoofed, as Marty turns this into the Moon Walk. And it is awesome.

* [[Doomed New Clothes]]: Marty's original "western" outfit, particularly the boots and hat.

* [[Drive-In Theater]]: Featured in a [[Played for Laughs]] scene before Marty leaves for 1885.

* [[Dub Induced Plot Hole]]: Not exactly a plot hole per se, but Doc's last line "Already been there [the future]" is sometimes dubbed to "I already am in the future". The original line is meant to be the lead-up for the Time Train's flying capability. The dubbed line turns it to a character moment, showing that whatever time he can go to, his heart is still in the Old West. Both versions work in their own way.

* [[Embarrassing Nickname]]: Buford 'Mad Dog' tannen.

* [[Eternally Pearly-White Teeth]]: Averted; Buford and his gang notice and remark on Marty's white teeth.

* [[Explosive Overclocking]]: The train, near the end.

* [[Fake Irish]]: Seamus and Maggie McFly.

* [[In the Back]]: Is where Buford Tannen was meant to shoot Doc.

** Buford likes doing this, apparently. In a deleted scene, he shoots Marshall Strickland in the back too.

* [[Let's Fight Like Gentlemen]]: Subverted.

* [[Lighter and Softer]]: Compared to ''Part II.''

** Well, it's a [[Shout-Out]] to ''[[A Fistful of Dollars]]'' and the climax with the "bullet-proof" protection - [[Foreshadowing|foreshadowed]] in ''II''.

*** He also says [[Dirty Harry|"Go ahead, make my day."]]

* [[Showdown At High Noon]]: Subverted.

* [[Steampunk]]: The time train from the end, as well as Doc's refrigerator in the blacksmith shop.

** The sheer size and complexity of the refrigerator, along with the difficulty of getting a conventional steam locomotive up to eighty-eight miles per hour (easily done with an internal combustion engine), illustrate more "realistic" applications of [[Steampunk]] tech. The time train at the end throws all realism out the window, but as Doc once said, "If you put your mind to it, you can accomplish anything."

'''Doc:''' "Nope. Already been there." }}

* [[Train Job]]: Not your typical train robbery, either. They want to steal the locomotive.

* [[Took a Level In Badass]]: After spending some time in [[The Wild West]], Doc Brown totes a huge rifle, rescues (and subsequently woos) a [[Damsel in Distress]], stands up to the local gunslinger, hijacks...er, '''[[Funny Moments (Sugar Wiki)|BORROWS]]''' a steam locomotive and drives it off a cliff.

{{quote| '''Doc:''' "It's a ''science'' experiment!"}}

{{quote| '''Doc:''' "I could have ended up in the Dark Ages."}}

* [[The Wild West]]

* [[You Look Like You've Seen a Ghost]]

{{quote| '''Marty:''' "You're not far off, Doc."<br />

 

== And notably avoids: ==

* [[Only Child Syndrome]]: Both Marty and Lorraine have numerous siblings that aren't that important to the plot, and of course Doc and Clara have 2 children together. George and Jennifer are only children however.

** As far as we know, anyway - we never actually met George or Jennifer's family.